India’s near-flawless run in T20Is through 2025 has left them looking like the team to beat heading into a home T20 World Cup, but one unresolved concern continues to hover over their preparations, the form of captain Suryakumar Yadav. Despite India’s dominance across tournaments and bilateral series, the skipper’s prolonged lean patch has become the most talked-about subplot as the title defence draws closer.

That conversation returned to the forefront during the fifth T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad. India clinched a 3-1 series win in emphatic fashion, yet Suryakumar’s struggles with the bat persisted, standing out amid a night of run-scoring freedom around him. While the result reinforced India’s status as a T20 powerhouse, the captain’s form remained a concern.

Backing his skipper unequivocally, Tilak Varma said Suryakumar is only one innings away from rediscovering the brilliance that once defined his T20I career. Speaking to reporters after the match, Tilak stressed that composure and patience, rather than drastic changes, were the key to Suryakumar’s revival.

“I was just saying to him that just middle a few balls, just wait and just be calm and take the few balls’ time,” Tilak said. “If the team wants, I can get going from the other side, but you just be on the crease and take some time. Take the feel of the middle of the bat.”

“If he gets that confidence then he will be everyone has watched him, how he can play,” Tilak added. “I was just saying try finding the gaps. If you can pierce the field well from your bat, you get a good feel about it and after that you are going to hit.”

The reassurance came on a night when Tilak himself delivered under pressure. His composed 73 off 42 balls, combined with a brutal 105-run partnership in just 45 deliveries alongside Hardik Pandya, powered India to 231 for 5. Contributions from Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson ensured relentless momentum, before the bowlers sealed a comfortable 30-run win.

Suryakumar’s own innings, however, was brief and uneasy. He managed just 5 off 7 balls, struggling to find timing as George Linde kept him on a tight leash. The dismissal encapsulated a season-long struggle that has steadily eroded the aura of one of T20 cricket’s most feared batters.

Statistically, the dip is stark. In T20Is this year, Suryakumar has scored 218 runs from 19 innings at an average of 13.62, without a single half-century. His last T20I fifty came in October 2024, a far cry from career numbers that read an average of over 35 at a strike rate exceeding 160. With the T20 World Cup looming, Indian cricket fans will be hoping for that "one innings" from their captain Suryakumar to come sooner rather than later.

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